Presentation Type
Poster
Full Name of Faculty Mentor
Melissa Baker, Psychology
Major
Psychology
Presentation Abstract
In the current study we examined how people’s attitudes toward police might mediate the relationship between the length of time it takes people to make judgments of an officer’s use of excessive force and their actual judgments of the officer’s use of force. Research on dual-processing theories of decision-making suggests that people might rely on their attitudes toward police when making determinations of police officer behavior (Bornstein & Greene, 2011; Yeong, 1999). Based on this research, we believe that people likely use their attitudes toward police when engaging in the judgment formation process and deciding whether an officer used excessive force or not. In our study, participants were asked various questions regarding their attitudes toward police (e.g., Agree or disagree: I think police are underappreciated; I think police receive special treatment, etc.). Next, participants read a vignette of a criminal trial describing a police officer who was charged with violating a citizen’s right by using excessive force against him; a similar procedure used in previous studies (Ewanation et al., 2022). Next, participants were shown video footage evidence showing the confrontation between the charged officer and the involved civilian. Last, participants were asked whether they believe the officer used excessive force against the civilian. Data-collection is on-going; however, preliminary results suggest that the relationship between participants’ judgments of police use of force and the amount of time it takes participants to make their judgments might be mediated by participants’ attitudes toward police.
Start Date
13-4-2023 12:00 PM
End Date
13-4-2023 2:00 PM
Disciplines
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Goldman, Kali and Fusee, Alex, "Do Attitudes toward Police Mediate the Relationship between Judgment Response Times and Judgments of Police Use of Force?" (2023). Undergraduate Research Competition. 97.
https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/ugrc/2023/fullconference/97
Included in
Do Attitudes toward Police Mediate the Relationship between Judgment Response Times and Judgments of Police Use of Force?
In the current study we examined how people’s attitudes toward police might mediate the relationship between the length of time it takes people to make judgments of an officer’s use of excessive force and their actual judgments of the officer’s use of force. Research on dual-processing theories of decision-making suggests that people might rely on their attitudes toward police when making determinations of police officer behavior (Bornstein & Greene, 2011; Yeong, 1999). Based on this research, we believe that people likely use their attitudes toward police when engaging in the judgment formation process and deciding whether an officer used excessive force or not. In our study, participants were asked various questions regarding their attitudes toward police (e.g., Agree or disagree: I think police are underappreciated; I think police receive special treatment, etc.). Next, participants read a vignette of a criminal trial describing a police officer who was charged with violating a citizen’s right by using excessive force against him; a similar procedure used in previous studies (Ewanation et al., 2022). Next, participants were shown video footage evidence showing the confrontation between the charged officer and the involved civilian. Last, participants were asked whether they believe the officer used excessive force against the civilian. Data-collection is on-going; however, preliminary results suggest that the relationship between participants’ judgments of police use of force and the amount of time it takes participants to make their judgments might be mediated by participants’ attitudes toward police.